SCAN: News and resources for Southern California appellate lawyers, featuring the Second and Fourth District Courts of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Friday, December 12, 2014

25% drop in Supreme Court opinions

Civil opinions MIA?

Today's DJ offers Vacancies, Changed Priorities Leads to Fewer State Supreme Court Opinions, pointing out that the Cal Supreme Court is "issuing a lot fewer decisions," especially civil opinions, than it has historically. A decade ago, the court issued 63 civil opinions in a year; this year, only 33. The Chief attributes the decrease to court staff furloughs and turnover of justices, which decreases productivity. Another factor the article discusses is culture: CJ George had an unspoken policy of issuing 100 opinions per year; but the current Chief has no such goal.